What to Expect in the Courtroom

If You Are Sent to a Courtroom

Jury Selection:

Once you report to a courtroom,
you and the other potential jurors will be escorted into the
courtroom by a bailiff or court attendant. The first twelve to
eighteen names on a random list of jurors will be called. These
people will take seats in a jury box. The rest of you will
remain seated in the courtroom. The judge will explain what the
case is about, how long the case
will last, and introduce the lawyers and parties to you. All
prospective jurors will be required to agree to truthfully
answer all questions asked.

Next, the judge and/or the attorneys will question each one
of you seated in the jury box to determine if you would be an
appropriate juror for the case. They will use the voir dire
questionnaire you filled out to help them pose appropriate
questions.

Voir dire questioning may take more than one day. Carefully
follow the directions of the judge and courtroom staff regarding
the date and time to return. If you are going to be late,
immediately contact the clerk of the courtroom to which you have
been assigned and explain your situation. Remember, the trial
cannot proceed until everyone is present. If you do not have a
valid excuse, the judge may fine you for being late.

Occasionally, issues arise in trial preparation or events
occur during a trial which could not be anticipated. When this
happens, the judge and the parties may need to address the
matter outside of your presence. You should not speculate about
what is going on. Rest assured that the judge respects your time
and will make every effort to not waste it.

Challenges:

An attorney may challenge you for
cause. This means the attorney will ask the judge to excuse you
from the jury for a specific legal reason. Each lawyer has an
unlimited number of challenges for cause. Each attorney also has
the right to a certain number of peremptory challenges. That is,
the attorney may ask that you be excused without giving any
reason at all. If this happens, do not take it personally. The
lawyer is merely exercising a right given by law. If you are
excused for any reason, return to the jury assembly room for
further instructions.

Once the required number of jurors have been chosen, the jury
panel is sworn to try the case.

What To Expect if Sworn as a Juror

Admonishment:

If you are selected as a sworn juror in a particular case, the judge will admonish
you not to speak with any other juror or other person about any
subjects connected with the case until the case is submitted for
deliberation. In addition, you are not to allow any juror or
other person to speak to you about subjects related to the case.

If you were to discuss the facts of the case, or your
impressions of it, with a fellow juror, your family, friends or
any other person, you would be exposing your mind to outside
influences. Remember that all cases must be decided solely on
the evidence received in the courtroom.

In addition, the admonition that you neither form nor express
opinions on the case requires that you keep an open mind until
all evidence has been presented and the case has been submitted
to you and your fellow jurors for deliberation. Even an
inadvertent violation of this instruction would be a violation
of your oath as a juror.

You will be asked to wear a badge so that you will be
recognized as a juror and avoid subjecting yourself to any
inappropriate discussions related to the case. If you believe
someone has deliberately tried to speak to you about the case,
you must report the incident to the judge immediately.

How the Trial Proceeds:

Jurors serve in two kinds of cases, criminal and civil. In a
criminal case, the plaintiff is a prosecutor who represents
the State of California. The prosecutor alleges that the
defendant committed a crime. The prosecution has the
burden of proving each element of the crimes charged beyond a
reasonable doubt. In a civil case, a person or
entity – the plaintiff – asks the court to protect some right or
help recover money or property from another person or entity –
the defendant. There is a different burden of proof for civil
cases.

Opening Statement

First the attorney for the plaintiff in a civil trial,
or the deputy district attorney in a criminal trial, will
tell the jury what he or she intends to prove. The attorney
for the defense may speak after that or may wait until after
the other side presents its evidence.

Presentation of the Evidence

After the opening statements, each side in the case will
present its evidence. This is done by calling witnesses,
asking them questions and presenting exhibits such as
photographs, papers, charts, weapons or any other evidence
to prove its case. Sometimes the defense in the case will
not present evidence. In a criminal case, the
defendant is presumed innocent and the prosecution has the
burden of establishing guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. No
criminal defendant is required to supply a defense. Each
side has the opportunity to ask questions of all witnesses
called to testify.

Generally speaking, evidence can
come in the form of testimony given by sworn
witnesses, exhibits admitted by the judge,
witnesses’ sworn written depositions and any
stipulations or agreements between the sides as to
certain facts of the case.

Judges and lawyers must follow the
Evidence Code, which has been created over time to
insure a fair trial. During a trial, information may
come up that cannot be considered as evidence, and
the Judge will tell you to not consider it when
deliberating.

The judge decides what evidence is
proper or admissible. The judge must apply the rules
of evidence according to the law. Although the judge
decides what evidence you may consider, you decide
if that evidence is believable and how important it
is to the case.

Closing Argument

After presentation of all the evidence, the attorneys
will sum up the case from their perspectives. Taking turns,
each side will tell you what he or she believes the evidence
shows and why it favors his or her side.

Instructions to the Jury

The judge will instruct you on your duties as jurors
either before or after the attorneys present their closing
arguments. The judge will also tell you about the law that
applies to the case.

In the Jury Deliberation Room

After instructions and closing arguments, the bailiff or
court attendant will escort you to the jury room where you
and the other jurors will deliberate. First, you will select
one of the jurors as foreperson. He or she leads the
discussion and tries to encourage everyone to join in. Do
not be afraid to speak out during deliberations. The whole
idea of a jury is to come to a decision after full and frank
discussion of the evidence and the instructions, based on
calm, unbiased reasoning. In civil cases, it takes nine
jurors to reach a verdict. In criminal cases, the verdict
must be unanimous.

The Verdict

When you have reached your verdict – which may come
after a few hours or several days – the foreperson will
record your verdict on an official form. The bailiff will
tell the judge you are ready and you will return to the jury
box. The judge will ask if you have reached a verdict. The
foreperson will answer, handing the written verdict to the
bailiff for delivery to the judge. The clerk will read it
aloud and mark the record accordingly. Sometimes one or all
of the parties will ask that the jury be polled. This
means that the judge or clerk will ask each juror
individually if this is his or her own verdict. The jury’s
service will then be complete in most cases.

Settlement

Parties involved in a case generally seek to settle
their differences to avoid the expense, time and risks of a
trial. Sometimes the case is settled or resolved just a few
moments before the trial begins or even during the course of
a trial. Jurors may have already been assigned to a case and
may be asked to wait while last minute negotiations are
taking place. Your time is not wasted – your very presence
in the court encourages resolution!

If a case does settle and the judge releases
you, return to the jury assembly room for further
instruction.